Franklin & Marshall College

Friday, 
September 24th  

F&M Autumn Research Fair
Location: Barshinger Life Sciences Building
Time: 12:30-4:30 p.m.

Thursday,
October 28th

Christopher Dombrowski, UC Davis
Title: "Experiments in bacterial motility"
Abstract: 

We consider interconnected aspects of bacterial motility, from the locomotion of a single bacterium to the collective dynamics of concentrated populations.  Proper understanding of the complexities of bacterial motion can only come from careful study of all aspects of motility:  hydrodynamic interaction of the cells, cell-cell interactions, chemotaxis, and the mechanism of propulsion.  A set of experiments will be presented that describe pattern formation and large scale fluid mixing of concentrated B. subtilis.  Large scale mixing in a concentrated population increases the overall health of the population.    Finally, experiments using optical trapping to measure the bending modulus of the flagella and the cell bodies of B. burgdorferi will be described.  Computational modeling of the shape of B. burgdorferiusing our measurements was able to reconstruct the observed shape of the cells. 

Wednesday, 
November 17th

Kunio Sayanagi, UCLA
Title: "Saturn's Hexagon and Ribbon; View of the Ringed Planet from Cassini Orbiter"

Abstract:
Since the Cassini spacecraft entered its orbit around Saturn in 2004, it has returned a wealth of scientific data that has led to many exciting scientific discoveries.  Of particular excitement is the detailed studies of Saturn's fast jetstreams, which dynamics produce distinct patterns of clouds including what has been called the Hexagon and the Ribbon.  I will present my recent analysis of these jetstreams as observed from the orbiting vantage point of the Cassini mission.

Stanley Kaye, Princeton University
Title: "Magnetic Fusion Energy: Progress and Challenges"

After the realization in the mid-1900s that thermonuclear fusion reactions, the process that powers the sun, could be controlled on earth, research programs to harness fusion as an energy source developed rapidly worldwide. Fusion potentially provides a large-scale energy source, but without the environmental impact of present fossil fuel and nuclear programs. For instance, coupled with the use of renewable energy sources and conservation, fusion could contribute to an energy economy that minimizes global warming. Experiments to control fusion have followed several lines, with magnetic confinement of plasmas being the most successful to date. Magnetic confinement fusion devices have provided significant levels of fusion power at the experimental level. These experiments have operated in parameter regimes similar to those proposed for fusion reactors, giving insights into the important physics that control the plasma stability and confinement properties in these regimes. The magnetic fusion program is presently following two lines. One is the conventional tokamak approach whose results feed into the physics design of a large-scale, high-fusion power multi-national project, ITER, which is presently under construction and which will demonstrate the viability of a fusion energy source. The other approach is to explore different magnetic confinement configurations in order to optimize the performance and cost of a reactor. This talk will present an overview of the fusion program as well as physics details and results from magnetic confinement studies. 

CPC Astronomers Meeting
Location: Stahr Auditorium, Stager Hall 
Franklin & Marshall Campus
Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Steven Girvin Yale University
Title: Quantum Money, Information and Computation
New Mysteries from the Quantum World

4:30 214 Kaufman